Joan Miltenberger Leventry

Joan Miltenberger Leventry was born almost a century ago on March 19, 1926 in Johnstown, Pennsylvania. She lived her young life within the periphery of the 8th ward, and her adult life in Westmont and Southmont, but moved to Florida to live out her golden years with her daughter, Kathryn. Far from being the paradise of her myriad imaginings, she found Florida to be “flat” and often exclaimed that the denizens of the keystone state were truly the lucky ones.

Her parents, Dr. Arthur Miltenberger and Helen Dorothy Smith, brother Richard Miltenberger (Betty), sister-in-law Joan Leventry Peck Markel, and most recently, her beloved housemate Fitzwilliam “Whitey,” a one-eared cat, preceded her in death. Joan is survived by her three children: Louis David (Karen), Kathryn Marie Zindel (Eric), and Helen Joan Carroll (Jack). She had nine grandchildren she was “Granny” to: Matthew Leventry, Wade Leventry (Jess), Louis Leventry, Sarah Leventry, Greta Zindel, Lucas Zindel, Hannah Carroll, Jonathan Carroll and Samuel Carroll (Skylar) and two great-grandchildren: Sydney and Ike Leventry. She also had six nieces and nephews: Celinda Levine, Christina Doren, Thomas Miltenberger (deceased), Sue Peck, Frank Peck and Christopher Markel.

She went to school at Cochran Jr. High, graduated from Johnstown High, and earned a degree from the University of Pittsburgh, in biology and chemistry, though she often joked that she majored in bridge. Her love of cards and board games was to be a life-long affair, and many a night was passed gathered around her dining room table playing Sequence, Spit, or Oh Hell– though for reasons known only to herself, she detested Pictionary. In more recent years, she became a particularly enthusiastic fan of Ticket to Ride (which she aptly renamed Trains).

While at university, she met her other love, Louis R. Leventry on a blind date, and they wed on November 5, 1949. They were married 58 years until his death on October 13, 2008. Joan was always exceedingly proud of having been a stay-at-home mother and used her time to lend her talents to charitable organizations: she held a 50-year membership in the Conemaugh Valley Memorial Hospital Junior Auxiliary group 8 and was a member of both the Art club and the Garden club. Her homes on Orchard Street and Goucher Street were always filled with seas of colorful flowers and beds of vegetables (particularly hot peppers) and she won many awards for her flower arrangements. Joan was also an avid knitter throughout her life, making sure that all her relatives were clothed in her intricate creations. As a middle aged woman, she enjoyed playing tennis, and even traveled to New York City to watch the US Open and was known to cross-country ski in the wilds of her beloved Pennsylvania. In her later years, her attention turned to completing jigsaw puzzles and playing different games of solitaire along with weekly game nights with neighbors.

Joan shuffled off this mortal coil on August 12, 2022; she will be greatly missed by all who knew her. A mass to honor her life will be held at Our Mother of Sorrows Catholic Church on August 22, 2022 at 10:00 AM, where she was a longtime member. Interment will follow the mass at Grandview Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to a charity of  choice.

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